Letters: Dry January debated, multiverse madness

From Matthew Kirkcaldie, University of TasmaniaAndy Coghlan's two-page report on giving up alcohol for a month was disappointing (4 January, p 6). The article starts by pointing out that there is no scientific evidence of health benefits of doing this, so it sounds worth reading. It then goes on to outline an anecdotal, uncontrolled set of observations on a group of self-selected journalists as if it were evidence.

The subjects "consider themselves to be normal drinkers" and some abstained while others continued "as normal" – with no information on how groups were selected. Blood tests show a difference in fasting glucose, something that can be attributable to many factors.

This is an uncontrolled study with no description of testing conditions, but reported in detail as if it had been published in a peer-reviewed journal. The word "significant" is used casually without any indication of analysis, and rating scales – ...

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